Using the right assessments for your district is key to tackling achievement gaps. Bay District Schools knows this firsthand. After changing their approach to assessment, they helped struggling students experience phenomenal--and clearly demonstrable--growth. After implementing MAP® Growth™, Bay students at the lower end of the achievement…

Schools across the nation know the importance of student achievement; which is at the core of teaching and learning. Here in Texas, we have an accountability rating system that helps gauge how well students are doing annually. Texas accountability system is based on a system of indexes that provides an all-inclusive assessment of the performance…

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), every state must develop a plan to provide a quality education to all students, hold schools accountable for how all students achieve, and identify and help schools that are struggling. It matters greatly how California designs its accountability system and supports school improvement. Getting this…

The Virginia Board of Education's Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (also referred to as the "Standards of Accreditation") are designed to ensure that an effective educational program is established and maintained in all of Virginia's public schools. The Standards of Accreditation: (1) Provide…

The Condition of Education in the Commonwealth project is one way the Rennie Center fulfills its mission of producing non-partisan and independent research that promotes improvement in public education for all Massachusetts children. Its principles include: (1) Education encompasses more than academics; and (2) Schools should not--and cannot--work…

This report features components of Arizona's plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act that impact the 85,000 English learners in the state regarding testing, accountability, and stakeholder engagement. Advocates can use this information to engage administrators and policymakers around improving outcomes for English learners and ensuring they…

This report features components of California's plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act that impact the 1.3 million English learners in the state regarding testing, accountability, and stakeholder engagement. Advocates can use this information to engage administrators and policymakers around improving outcomes for English learners and ensuring…

This memorandum presents results from the Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation's (CSAI) scan of growth models proposed in Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waivers, with a focus on U.S. states' and territories' differentiation of students who participate in special education programs.

The most recent scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2013) indicate that the achievement gap between students with disabilities and their peers is widening and that 69% of 4th graders and 60% of 8th graders with identified disabilities score below basic levels. The Institute of Education Sciences' National Center for…

While teachers face new expectations for student learning and more equitable educational outcomes, instruction and assessment remain rooted in traditional approaches that are largely inequitable, culturally irrelevant, and intellectually disengaging, contributing to gaps in academic achievement across student groups (Darling-Hammond, 2010; King…

Indian Education Formula Grants represent the U.S. Department of Education's largest investment in addressing the unique academic and cultural needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students. The program is aimed at supporting services that are responsive to the unique cultural, language, and educational needs of these students and help them…

Ahead of the party conference season, the Sutton Trust is urging fairer admissions to comprehensives, grammar schools and independent schools as part of a 10-point Mobility Manifesto setting out ten practical policy steps designed to put social mobility at the heart of the 2015 election campaign. The manifesto urges greater use of ballots (random…

In 2009, Lumina Foundation released its first strategic plan, based on the goal that 60% of Americans obtain a high-quality postsecondary degree or credential by 2025-- a goal now known as Goal 2025. Much has changed even in the short time since that plan was written, both in the external environment and in what has been learned from this work.…

Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on transition planning for students with exceptional needs. This is in part the result of the mandates contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. This increased emphasis has revealed a number of shortcomings with how transition planning is done…

This paper presents Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now's (ConnCAN's) annual report for 2011. For those who believe that Connecticut's public education system is in need of major repair, 2011 was a tough year. Despite the best efforts and bold intentions of ConnCAN and other like-minded individuals and organizations, the status quo…